The Lost Past
by BellsoftheTreeSpirits
Summary: Waking up in a forest, Sheena Fujibayashi finds herself mysteriously next to a young boy and heavily pregnant. Not knowing how this came to be, she stumbles in the dark for answers. This is a rewrite of a fic I began and stopped about a year ago.
1. The Awakening

The forest lay hushed under the vivid, cold moon. Occasional hoots of an owl rung out, echoing softly. The leaves of the tall trees rustled slightly due to the soft wind that swept through the darkened landscape, and droplets of water fell from the leaves onto the damp ground. The moon shown its light onto a figure just beginning to show sign of movement after a long period of stagnancy. The figure was that of a young woman with hair the color of the darkest night, lying in an almost fetal position. Her eyes slowly flickered open to reveal a warm honey-like hue. She tried to make out her surroundings, but the forest was too dark, for the moon became partially hidden behind the clouds and the trees were quite thick. She let her eyes close, and waited for her mind to defog. The woman took in the scents around her. They were not very familiar to her.

Her eyes closed tighter, as she struggled to comprehend where she was. Everything was confusing to her. A faint memory of working on paperwork in her hometown, which she was chief of, danced around in her mind, clashing with the reality of where she was at that moment. Maybe she went on a mission, she thought. But if so, why can't she remember how she came to be on this damp forest floor. Her head did not ache, so she couldn't have hit it and therefore lose some of her memory, she reasoned, though she could have lost her memory another way.

The woman struggled for moments longer on where she was and how she came to be where she was, but she failed to think of any explanation. A sigh escaped from between her lips. She had no idea where she was. A slight chill lay on her dampened body. Also, her body felt strangely heavy. Maybe this was all a dream. She lay there for a while longer without opening her eyes, hoping that by keeping them closed, she would not have to face reality. Even though she hoped that this was a dream, she knew that she was awake and in the real life.

Suddenly, she finally realized the warmth that pressed against her. She heard soft breathing. She could feel a body underneath her draped arm. Her eyes shot opened and her breath caught. Slowly the women angled her eyes towards the body. She stared through the darkness and waited for the clouds to allow the moon's light to shine back down. Finally, the clouds finished their passing, and she was able to see the body that laid against her. It's a young child, she realized. The child couldn't be more than three years old, judging by the size of its form. She slowly brought the hand of her draped arm to the mass of black hair that was next to her chest. Her fingers hesitantly combed through the hair.

"Who is this kid," she thought. "Why is he here with me? Why am I here with him? I think it is a he."

In order to see this young human better, she gradually began to lift her body up with her other arm. But she stopped almost as soon as she started. Her body felt so heavy and unusual. Rather than looking at the child, she looked down at herself. Her eyes widened with shock, and her breath caught once again. She reluctantly brought her hand to her stomach, but as soon as it made contact, she shot up into a sitting position, which she soon regretted as a wave of nausea and lightheadedness hit her. When she recovered, she looked back down at her stomach in disbelief.

"It's so huge," she murmured into the night air. The woman looked to the sleeping child and back to her swollen belly and then back to the child again.

"I…I…Oh…what in the world is happening to you, Sheena Fujibayashi." She quietly and tiredly said to herself. She buried her face into her quivering hands.

"Mommy, are you okay?" A little voice asked.


	2. Finding Father

This story takes place 6 years after the end of the journey. I am just going to pretend Dawn of the New World does not exist because, honestly, I don't care for it. Anyway, Sheena is the chief of Mizuho, so she has been doing her chiefly doings and all of that. Zelos in now the ex-Chosen, but he is still working with the king, helping with Meltokio's relations with other villages and cities and with Tethe'alla's relations with Sylvarant. Raine is currently a resident in Sybak, teaching at the university there. She is also married to a fellow half-elf scientist, and they have twins: a boy named Orion and a girl named Kyrie. Lloyd and Colette are married too, living in Iselia with a newborn child. The others have lives too, but I will share the details later.

* * *

The sun was just climbing over the horizon, when the child awoke for the second time. Right now, Sheena was sitting with her back heavy against a tree and with her eyes towards the lightening sky, hoping for an explanation. The child was right beside her, unfurling from his curled position. He had followed her to the tree, after she had scrambled there when he first awoke and then had fallen back asleep soon after. That was the first time she was ever frightened of a child. Not even the mischievous, trouble-seeking ninja children of Mizuho frightened her. But with the one question the little boy asked, she was shaken to the core and took flight towards the tree at which she now rested.

Ignoring the movements of the boy for now, Sheena continued in her troubled thoughts. "Mother? I can't be a mother," she thought for what seemed to be the hundredth time. That question and belief had been haunting her for hours, making it unable for her to sleep. "I have not slept with a man ever. I have not even kissed a man! How can I be pregnant? Why is this boy calling me 'mother'? I can't be his mother." But she knew that last part was most likely false. The boy's hair was the same color as hers. The shape of his eyes were like hers. Even his face shape was similar to hers, though at that moment it was hard to tell since he had the chubby face of a three-year-old. He also wore Mizuhoen clothes.

"Okaasan, I'm hungry," came his sleepy voice. She wearily turned her head towards him, not even fazed by him calling her 'mother' again, since that word had been running through her mind basically the whole night. Instead of saying anything back to him, she just numbly stared at his eyes. "Again, those eyes," she thought. Those eyes had long haunted her since the boy's first awakening along with 'mother'. "Those eyes have to belong to the father."

Her skin crawled as she thought about the father. Sheena had a good inkling on who he was, but she didn't want to believe it.

"They look so much like _his_!" Anger began to swell within her, but the kick of the baby inside her quelled that fire. Her hands quickly hugged her stomach, and her head bowed. "What mess am I in?"

"Okaasan! I'm hungry," came his voice louder and more demanding now.

Sheena turned to face him again. "I can't be angry at the baby inside of me or this kid. Their not to blame," her mind told her. "Anyway, the boy looks too cute to be mad at."

She turned her slight frown, which she had been wearing for quite a long time, into a smile and ruffled the boy's mess of black hair. "Fine, let's get you something to eat, kiddo!"

The boy's face brightened at this, and he quickly stood up. Sheena grabbed her lone bag and struggled to get up as well. She had to use the tree as support, for her body was stiff and it ached, and the weight of the baby was heavy.

"What are we gowing to eat, mom?" he asked.

"Uh," she started. Her brow furrowed. She had no idea. She squatted back down, but not without sighing first, and opened up the bag to look inside. The boy came to stand next to her. "You don't know, mom?"

"Yeah," Sheena replied absent-mindedly as she dug through the bag. Finally she found some onigiri balls that were wrapped up.

"Here, let's have some onigiri," Sheena said with some forced enthusiasm. She never was bad with children before, but now she didn't know quite how to act around this three-year-old. She placed the food on the ground in front of him and sat down cross-legged. He followed suit with as slight scowl on his face.

"What?" Sheena asked, noticing his expression. "You don't like these?"

"They're bowing", he replied, "We alway haf these."

"Well, sorry, kid," she said with small disappointment because she felt she was already failing at her suddenly appointed motherly duties.

"That's okay!' he said, quickly changing moods, and he snatched a ball, and took a big bite of it.

Sheena stared at him with a tinge of surprise, both at his sudden willingness to eat the food and the huge bite he took.

After taking her own onigiri ball and quickly swallowing it she asked, "So what's your name?"

He looked at her funnily, a ball halfway to his mouth, but he then proudly said, "Okaa-san, I know my name. I'm Sen!"

"Right, right. I was just testing you." And she continued eating.

Soon they finished their breakfast, and Sheena cleaned up their small mess and wiped Sen's face clean of the sticky rice.

"Okay, let's go," the young mother announced when shouldering her bag.

"But, mom, I haf to pee!" Sen exclaimed.

Sheena sighed. "Fine go pee over in the bushes." After she saw his questioning look, she continued, "You can pee by yourself can't you?"

"No, and daddy come with me," he pouted, but he turned and started to the bushes by himself.

"Wait, wait. I'm coming," she called, and quickly came to his side to assist.

When Sheena finished tying his trousers on, he asked, "Are we going to daddy, now?"

A sudden dread filled her. "I don't know for sure if he is the dad, but we could still go to him," she silently said to herself. "Even if he's not the father he may still help me and know what's happening. Anyway we are fairly close to Meltokio." She concluded in her mind. Now with the sun's light, she was able to see the capital in the distance. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After thinking a few moments more, she let the breath go.

Sheena smiled down at the boy and grabbed his tiny hand. "Yep, let's go find daddy." And with a reluctant, hesitant step she began the journey to Meltokio.


	3. Morning at the Mansion

The journey to Tethe'alla's capital took longer than she thought. It was after midnight, when she came into the streets of Meltokio. Because the gates were closed, she had to go through the sewers, but luckily the journey through them was uneventful. Climbing the ladders was the only troublesome part.

The streets were quiet and dimly lit. A few times she heard the movements and meows of cats, the barks of dogs, and shouts and songs of drunkards and other late goers, but other than those few disturbances, the inhabitants of Meltokio took the noise to sleep with them.

The chill of the night caused Sheena to hug the sleeping boy closer. She was carrying him against her chest, awkwardly though, due to her swollen belly. Despite the chilliness, sweat dropped down her neck, back, and chest. It glistened on her brow as well. She was exhausted. She knew that she should have stopped a while back to sleep for the night because of the toll of her pregnancy, but she foolishly decided to keep heading toward her goal. Even if she weren't pregnant, she should have ceased her journey a couple hours ago. She was running on little sleep, and carrying a three-year-old and a pack on her back. The fact that she made it as far as she did amazed her. But of course she took many breaks, which was one of the reasons why she came to Meltokio so late. Now, though, she was determined to make it to her destination. She wasn't going to stop to rest until she arrived.

Her whole body ached, her breathing was heavy, and her eyelids threatened to close, but she still struggled onwards. At this point her body seemed to be moving on its own accord. After what seemed like an hour, though it was not, she arrived to the front door of the mansion that she had in mind. She knew that the occupants were probably fast asleep, but she could not bring herself to try to pick the lock, so she banged the metal knocker against the wooden doors. The ninja tiredly leaned on one of the pillars next to the door and waited. She knocked again, and then a third time. Finally, on the fourth time, she heard the door being unlocked, along with some grumbling. Through half-lidded eyes and by the light of the lamps on either side of the door, she saw unruly, long red locks of hair in the opening of the doorway. She did not expect to see Zelos Wilder open the door.

"Sheena!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide and all sleepiness now gone. He wasn't even able to say anything perverted or womanizing as he usually would. "What are you doing here?" He stepped towards her, but then stopped when he registered what she held in her arms and then the size of her mid-section. "What's going on, hunny?"

She ignored his question as well as the nickname and walked towards him. The walk turned to a stumble, but Zelos was able to awkwardly stabilize her. Sheena slumped against him, her forehead resting against his shoulder; exhaustion was taking its toll. As for Zelos, he was so surprised at all that was happening that he didn't do or say anything for almost a minute. But on feeling the soft squirm of the child she carried, he took action. He clumsily took the sleeping boy from Sheena, while helping the exhausted woman to sit on the ground. The man would help her in a moment. First he took the boy to the couch where he was sleeping and laid him carefully there. His eyebrows raised at the appearance of the child, taking note of his hair. Zelos pulled his still warm blanket over him and then returned to the crumpled woman.

The former chosen bent down, removed the bag from Sheena's back, and placed it to the side. Then he placed her arm around his neck, and lifted her up, not without the woman's dull protest. Standing up he staggered backwards due to the weight of the pregnant woman, but he quickly recovered his balance. With her head resting against his chest he carried her up the stairs and to the bedroom in which she usually slept when she would visit.

After she basically fell into Zelos's arms, the next thing Sheena knew was the sun shining brightly outside. By the sun's position she deduced it had to be around noon; she was too lazy and comfortable to move in order to see the clock. Usually if she slept this late, she would have rushed out of bed and scolded herself and those who let her sleep that late, but at the moment, she was thankful for sleeping until noon. She was very drained.

Feeling the weight in her middle she looked down at her stomach in surprise, but she quickly remembered her situation. She groaned and buried her face into her plushy pillow. With her face in the pillow, her mind ran through the events of yesterday. The last thing she remembered was being lifted up. Her face reddened slightly when she realized Zelos must have carried her to this bed. She hated being carried, especially by that certain red-headed man. He also must have taken off her straw sandals as well as her blue haori. She partially felt violated at how much contact there must have been, but she tried to focus on being grateful. Pushing those thoughts aside, the ninja felt that she was forgetting something. There was something else that was important. She struggled to remember for what seemed like two minutes before the realization dawned on her.

"Sen!" she exclaimed and did the best she could to sit up. Upon sitting up she scanned the large bed and around the room, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Huh, I'm already feeling so protective of him," she sighed.

Deciding to search for him, she heaved herself out of bed and stretched. "Whew," she exhaled, "Being pregnant is tiring." Getting out of bed was difficult, and her whole body ached, especially her back and feet. "This isn't going to be easy," she said to herself as she held her stomach. "I must be at least a couple months till the whole birthing thing." Sighing, she turned, and with aching feet, she walked to in front of the large mirror. She looked at herself in shock as well as dismay. This was the first time she looked into a mirror since she woke up in the forest. Though her hair was in a mess, she paid more attention to the size of her stomach. Looking down at it was one thing, but seeing herself in the mirror was another. It just helped confirm the reality of her unforeseen pregnancy. She let loose an exasperated sigh and then groaned, but soon Sen returned to her mind.

"I guess I should find him," she said to no one. After putting up her hair and straightening her clothes, she left the room and went to the railing that was on one side of the hallway overlooking the front living room and entry way.

"Oi, Sen, where are you?" she called. "Sen!"

She heard him before she saw him, as his small feet hit the floor while he came running to her. "Mommy! You're awake!" he blurted. The three-year-old was on the ground level now looking up at her with a large grin. "You slept forevah!"

"Sorry," she replied as she began descending the stairs toward him. When she was just stepping onto the level floor, he rushed to her and hugged her legs, surprising the ninja, as she was still not used to having a child so attached to her. "I taut dat you were gowing to sleep forevah, Mommy! But Sebasen said you'd wake up," His voice was muffled by her clothes.

Sheena gently patted his head, smiling at his childish worrying. "What are you up to?"

Sen pulled away, and she saw his face scrunch up as he tried to remember. Remembering, he lifted his face up, a bright expression gracing his childish features, "Sebasen's making pancakes for lunch!"

"Oh, is that so? That sounds really good!" She could feel her mouth begin to water.

"Eat wit me, Mommy!" he happily exclaimed while grabbing her hand and tugging her towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen she helped Sen back onto his stool, and took up a seat next to him at the counter. Sebastian hailed her good morning and placed a plate topped with pancakes in front of her. She said a quick thank you and joined Sen in digging into the delicious food.

"So how long have you been up, kid?" she asked between forkfuls.

Sebastian answered for him, "Since eight, Miss Sheena."

"Wow, that long! I hope he hasn't been bothering you, Sebastian."

The butler shook his head. "No, No. Quite the contrary. It's nice to have his young energy in the house."

"That's good. Oh, and where's the Chosen—urh—ex-Chosen?" she sideway glanced at him, while stuffing another forkful of pancake into her mouth.

"He's at a meeting with the king. He should be back shortly," the butler answered.

"Has he seen Sen yet this morning?"

"No, Master Zelos left half past seven." Sebastian took Sen's empty plate away and began washing it.

"Oh, I see. That's good," she murmured to herself.

"Okaa-san," Sen said, pulling Sheena's attention back to him, "What are we gowing to do today?"

"Huh," her eyes went to him. "Oh…I don't know. Do you have something in mind?"

"I wanna see daddy! He's been gone fah long time," came his quick response.

'Well, he's not here right now," she replied, just assuming that Zelos was the dad since Sen's reaction to the mansion seemed to point to it. She took a moment to think of things a child needed or usually wanted to do. Then she noticed his sticky fingers and face.

"Hey, kid, let's give you a bath," she said.

His face visibly brightened at her decision. "I wuv baths!" he said, and he began to climb down the stools rungs. Sheena stuffed her last bit of pancake into her mouth and quickly descended her stool to help him, even though he was doing a great job by himself. When the boy's feet touched the ground, he dashed out of the kitchen, through the small bit of hallway, across the front living room, and up the stairs, all in the span of about thirty seconds.

Back in the kitchen, Sheena stared out the door that he went through, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. "I've never seen a kid so excited for a bath before!"

"I've never seen a three-year-old run so fast," Sebastian said, slight surprise on his features as well.

"Hurry up, mommy!" she heard Sen yell. She sighed and shook her head. He was going to be a handful. She then thanked Sebastian for the food and made her way upstairs.

When she reached her bedroom, Sheena found the boy impatiently in front of the conjoined bathroom's open door. "Come on, Mom! I need to be kwean!" he complained.

"Okay, okay. Just a second. I have to go to the bathroom first."

Sen pouted, but he let her into the bathroom. She patted his head on the way in. When she finished, she opened the door, and he rushed in. She tested the temperature of the water that came out of the faucet, and finding a good temperature, she put the plug in the bathtub and let the tub fill up. When she looked over at Sen, he was just pulling his underwear off. Now clothes-free, he went to enter the tub, but Sheena stopped him.

"Settle down, you'll get in there. Let the tub fill," she grumbled. When the tub reached a good amount she unblocked his path. Sen quickly climbed into the tub and began splashing around.

"Hey, now, stop it!" she complained, as a wave of water hit her, "You're getting me all wet!" She tried covering her face, but that barely helped.

"Mommy, you need bath too!' He happily said and splashed more water at her.

"No, I don't!" But after thinking about the last time she presumably took a bath and how much exercise she had the day before, she responded, "Fine you're right. Anyway, I'm already wet."

"Yay, Mommy's taking bath too!" he rejoiced as he splashed even more water at her.

Sheena stood up and slid off her clothes, knowing that she need not worry about her modesty in front of such a young child, especially since he probably saw her naked before. Up to a certain age, it was not uncommon for children to take baths with their parents in Mizuho.

With all of her garments off, she threw them in a corner, not really caring, and she carefully stepped down into the tub. She knelt down next to him and with a wash cloth covered in soap, she began rubbing his body. After cleaning his hands, she told him to squeeze his eyes shut, as well as keep his mouth closed, and she wiped his chin and cheeks. When she rubbed his cheeks with the cloth, he giggled and grabbed her hands with his.

"Mommy, dats enough. It tickles," he said through his giggles. Sheena couldn't help but laugh as well.

After he rinsed himself of the soap buds, Sheena was ready with the shampoo.

"Okay, Sen. Shut your eyes again," she said, and after making sure he obeyed her, she rubbed the shampoo into his shaggy black hair. With that finished, she let him rinse himself off, while she rubbed soap over her body.

"Wait, Mommy!" he said, stopping her hand, "I want to cwean yur belly."

"Huh, okay." And she gave him the cloth.

"Mommy, you take up most of the tub," he giggled as he carefully rubbed the cloth in circles on her bulging stomach.

"Hey, now. I'm holding another person inside of me," she pointed out. She was going to take back the cloth when she saw that he was finished, but he kept a hold on it. "No, Mom. I hav to cwean your back wike you cweaned mine." And he moved around her and began washing her back.

After her body was clean, her hair shampooed and conditioned, and she was rinsed, and deciding Sen spent long enough in the tub, she ordered Sen out. "Come on now, you don't want to get all wrinkly do you?"

He pouted, but he eventually climbed out. Sheena soon followed him out and grabbed them both towels from the rack, giving one to Sen so that he could dry himself. After drying herself, she wrapped a bath robe around her clean body, and went into the bedroom to get clothes. Zelos always kept extra clothes for his friends in their respective bedrooms. But she didn't get to even put on her clothes after she found them, for in the corner of her eye she saw a streak race out of the bathroom and into the hallway.

"No!" she moaned. She picked up his towel that followed him into the bedroom, and she ran the best she could after him.

He wasn't that hard to follow, since he left trails of water behind him and his laughter rang throughout the mansion. Catching him, though, was the problem. First of all, she was pregnant. Secondly, just as Sebastian had said, he was really fast.

When she finally caught him, she buried him in his fluffy and large towel.

"Caught you, you trouble-maker," she said, as she began drying the laughing boy with the towel.

"No fair, Mom! The person inside you helped! Dat's cheating!"

Concentrating on drying his hair, she answered proudly, "No, the baby has nothing to do with it. I'm just that good!"

After Sen was dried, she wrapped him in the towel despite his protest, and she lifted him up.

"Ugh, you're heavy," Sheena teased. "You shouldn't have eaten all those pancakes."

"I'm wight as a feather," he argued as his hand came loose and hit Sheena in the face.

"Hey, now, settle down, kiddo!" she said back. "Let's get you upstairs. I can't have a naked boy streaking around the house."

At that Sen laughed even more and allowed the ninja to carry him up the stairs. Back in the bathroom, she made sure Sen put his clothes on, and when they were on, she quickly brushed his hair. With a final touching of straightening his woolen kimono and trousers, she said with a hint of pride, "Look how handsome you are."

"I don't wanna be handsome," the little boy pouted. "I wanna be fierce."

"Well, you don't look fierce," she said bluntly, standing up.

" _Mom_ ", he complained, which caused Sheena to smirk.

"Well, now what should we do?" she asked.

"I wanna nap."

"What? Nap?" she questioned, surprised by his answer. "But you were just running around, a ball of energy!'

"But, now I'm tired," he yawned.

Sheena knelt back down. "I guess you have been up for a while." She placed her hand on his small shoulder. "But you can't wear your good clothes to bed."

"I swep in these las night, okaa-san."

"You weren't supposed to," she said as she began pulling off the clothes she just helped him in.

She rummaged through her bag and found a small yukata for the boy, and helped him into that. Finally, she helped him into the large bed, where he soon fell asleep.


	4. Unwilling

After putting the now sleeping boy on the bed and pulling the covers over his sleeping form, she heard a knock that was followed by the opening of the bedroom door.

"Is everything okay in here?" Sheena heard a voice say, recognizing it as Zelos's. "There's wet spots and footprints all around the house.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she answered, turning towards the man.

"Wow! That's quite the outfit you're wearing, hunny!' he smirked as he came to halt in front of her.

"Shut up," she blushed and pulled the robe around her more tightly.

They stood in awkward silence as Zelos stared at the napping boy.

"What were you doing sleeping on the couch?" Sheena asked, breaking the silence.

Zelos turned his gaze to the ninja. "Oh, you know. I decided to switch things up a bit, and I was too comfortable to move." He shrugged, and then moved even closer to her. "But more importantly what were you doing at my doorstep at 1:30 in the morning? And who's the kid?" He motioned towards Sen with a tilt of his head.

"Uh, his name's Sen."

"Sen, huh?" He said almost absent-mindedly. He looked down at her belly.

"And how far did you travel yesterday? It had to be a long ways if you collapsed into my arms!"

Sheena's blush returned, and she turned her head away from his. "I traveled pretty much the whole day." Her eyes went to him, before quickly averting them again.

"Huh, you don't say?" His eyebrows rose. "You, a pregnant woman, traveled the whole day to get to me." A big grin formed on his face. "You know, that's not very healthy."

"I took some breaks," she argued. "And not to get to you!" She yelled, but hushed her voice after remembering the sleeping child. "Well, I did, but….urgh." She scowled at his annoying laughter that now reached her ears, and she hugged herself tightly.

When his laughing subsided, Zelos bent over and gently poked her stomach.

"What are you doing?" she asked annoyed, while swatting away his hand.

"Just making sure this is real," he dorkily smiled at her.

"I assure you, it is very real." As though to prove her point, the baby inside harshly kicked, causing Sheena to grimace and clutch her stomach.

Concern flitted across his face, but he knew she was fine. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant? And who's the lucky guy?" He grinned, although disappointment and jealousy lay in his gut, something he would not admit.

"Because I just found out…and…I-I'm not sure who the guy is," She stuttered. She had turned her face downward and away from him, red dusting her warm cheeks.

"O…kay," Zelos said confusedly. "Usually I would ask how you'd not know the guy, I know you're not the type to just go sleeping around with people, but I'm even more confused about how you just found out. You look like you are very far along."

"We should probably just sit down somewhere else to talk," she nervously suggested.

Zelos quietly nodded and turned around towards the door

Right before she followed the red-haired man out the door, she remembered that she was only wearing a bath robe. Anger flared inside her.

"You stupid idiot!" she yelled at him, which caused him to pause and turn to look at her. "You were just going to let me walk out like this!"

"Hey," he put his hands out defensively, "You didn't say anything, so I thought you were fine with it. I wasn't going to complain."

Sheena quickly grabbed an extra pillow on the bed and chucked it at the man.

"Hey, hey, don't get angry at me, hunny," he said in a whiny voice, after deflecting the pillow. "It's not my fault you're getting old and forgetting things." He put his hands in the air and turned his nose upward.

The angry ninja took this chance to throw another pillow, which, this time, hit him right in the face. "Shut u-" she stopped. She turned to look at Sen, and for some reason he was still sleeping, despite all the noise Zelos and she were making. Relieved, she looked back at Zelos and angrily motioned to him to leave the room. "Shut the door behind you," she mouthed. Sheena gave a sigh of relief when the door closed all the way.

A couple minutes later, she opened the door to find Zelos waiting outside in the hall, and she followed him to a sitting room close by. Inside, Sheena gratefully took a seat on one of the red cushioned armchairs, while the red-haired man sat across from her in a similar chair. They sat for a while in silence, one looking at the ground nervously and holding her stomach, the other brimming with questions to ask but not knowing where to exactly start.

After many moments, Zelos finally broke the silence. "So…how don't ya know like anything, hun?"

Sheena sighed and tilted her head backwards. Bringing it back forward, she said, "Well, I kinda just woke up in the middle of the forest two nights ago, and Sen was right next to me and, well, I was pregnant."

Zelos leaned further back in his seat and raised one of his fine eyebrows. "So, what you're saying is, just two nights ago you woke up in the middle of the forest, and bam, you had a kid with you and you were pregnant?"

"Yeah," she said, some annoyance leaking out.

"So you don't know anything?"

"No, not really. I don't even know what I was doing in that forest. From what I remember, I was just working on paper work in Mizuho. No kid, and definitely not pregnant."

"O…kay…Why, didn't you just leave the kid?" he asked, crossing his arms and throwing a leg over the other. "You don't know if he's your responsibility."

"Zelos!" she suddenly said in a raised, agitated voice, "I couldn't just leave a three-year-old in the forest alone. That is just plain cruel." She leaned back further in her chair and crossed her arms as well. "Anyway, just look at him. His resemblance to me is uncanny. And he keeps calling me mother."

"Okay, okay. Settle down, hunny," he said, taken back by her sudden angry outburst, but he regained his composure. "So you really believe that you are his mother?" he inquired, again raising an eyebrow.

At her silence, he continued, "Sheena, be reasonable. I can understand that you are pregnant, and that child is yours. First of all, that baby is inside of you and it shows. Secondly, I haven't seen you for almost half a year. So you could have very well slept with a man and so on. But that kid, you couldn't have had him. You obviously couldn't have given birth and then raised a three-year-old in that time span." Zelos paused in talking as he saw a vein beginning to show on the ninja's forehead.

"Just listen, you idiot," came her strained voice, "I did not sleep with any man! I have no idea where these kids came from, and because I have no idea what the deal is with Sen, I will take care of him until I find out. That's the least I can do!"

"Okay, jeesh!" he exclaimed, while putting his hands up defensively. "You women get so worked up over children, and so protective too. You just got to help them out when they're in need, don't ya? Just can't leave them, alone."

Sheena's vein only grew more prominent, as she struggled to keep a fist from making contact with his face.

Zelos laughed nervously, and sweat began to form on his forehead.

When he could tell her anger lowered, he continued with his questioning.

"So why'd you come to me hunny? I certainly am not the father. Believe me, I would remember having sex with you." He smiled.

Her eyes moved down to the floor, her anger gone for now, paying no heed to his last statement. "Zelos…I don't want to drag you into this, but I do believe you're at least Sen's dad."

"Hahaha!" he laughed while slapping his knee. "You can't be serious, hunny! Why do you think that? Do you want me to be the dad?" His eyebrows wiggled at her.

"Shut up, idiot," she said sharply, her eyes returning to him. Her emotions and feelings were in a jumble. "Why would I want you to be the dad?"

He leaned towards her, his arms crossed on top of his knees, with a smile plastered to his face. "Because you're in love with me!"

At this a red dusted Sheena's cheeks, and she quickly brought a fist to his face. "You stupid Chosen!" she yelled, "Quit joking!"

"It's ex-Chosen to you," replied the hurt red-haired man in a muffled voice, as he held his face.

Sheena went back to crossed arms and leaning back in the chair, turning her face away from him yet again. "When Sen wakes up, just look at his eyes and you'll understand why I think you're the father."

Hearing this and seeing that she was serious, most of the color drained from Zelos's disbelieving face when he comprehended what she just said. He could not find any words to say, but still his mouth opened and closed. Sheena looked back at him, tiredness etched on her face. She waited for him to say something. Finally after a minute of awkward silence, she heard his hushed question. "You can't be serious?!" His eyes were wide. "You have to be mistaken."

"I'm not," she responded, "I know what your eyes look like."

Zelos forwent saying what he would have usually said to those words and continued in his disbelief. "No, I can't be a father!" He took a few moments to think silently. Then his eyes narrowed, and he stood up and went to the other side of the room, his back facing the young woman. "I'm not saying anything more, until I see the boy's eyes" And with that he left the room, leaving an exhausted and frustrated mother alone.


	5. Frustration

There. I am posting a second chapter today because chapters 4 and 5 both are not that long. Also, it took me a while to post chapter 3; I'm just making up for lost time.

Pssh, I really have six more chapters completed, but I will post them when I see fit.

Thank you for reading this story so far, and have a wonderful day/night (whatever time it is for you when you read this).

* * *

After Zelos left, Sheena stayed put in the room for over an hour. She sat in the same chair mulling over thought after thought. But the more she thought, the more confused and agitated she became. Many times tears of frustration wetted her cheeks.

She finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Dammit!" She hissed, and she dug her face into her hands. "What's the use of thinking!"

Then she began to slowly breathe in and out. "Okay, Sheena, just stay calm," she told herself.

When she finally calmed herself down, she totally sunk into the cushioned armchair, relaxing her recently tense muscles. But her relaxation was interrupted by the movements of the baby within her.

"Woah, settle down in there," she said to her large stomach. She began rubbing it.

"This is actually kinda cool," she thought, as she stared at her bulge. A small smile crept onto her face, but was quickly replaced by a horrified expression when she remembered all the stories told to her about childbirth.

"Okay," Sheena said softly out loud while she shook her head. "Let's not think about that. I still have a couple months, right? Maybe."

She leaned her head against the back of the chair. "A nap sounds good," she thought. "My whole body aches. My feet, my back. Ughh..my head. And now I have to go to the bathroom again." She let out a hefty sigh. "I should get up."

It still took her two minutes to finally get the motivation to get up. And when she did, she grumbled her way back to her room.

After relieving herself, she darkened the room by closing the curtains, and she turned on the ceiling fan, for she wanted both the breeze and the soft, soothing noise. Then she exaggeratedly made her way to the bed, where she crawled in next to the softly snoring Sen.

"I hope you don't mind my company, little guy," she murmured close to his ear. Sheena found another pillow, and she put that to rest in between her legs. Now, she breathed a content sigh.

"Ah, this is better. Much better than thinking." And while pushing thoughts out of her head, she fell asleep.

It was almost six o'clock when she woke up, and her wake-up was caused by a certain boy jumping on the bed.

Seeing her eyes flutter open, he came crashing down right next to her.

"Come on, mommy! I wanna eat!" he complained.

Sheena's only answer was a grunt and gentle push. But the gentle push didn't stop Sen. He regained his position next to her. "Come on! All you do is sweep!"

"No, I don't sweep, I sleep, Sen," she muttered, annoyance prevalent in her voice, as she tried to turn over. Her actions were unsuccessful.

"Wake up, Okaa-san!" He said again, while he now began to poke her.

"Fine, fine, kiddo," she said, finally giving in. Sheena wiped the sleep from her eyes, and with the not really needed help of Sen, she sat up. Sen jumped down from the bed and grabbed Sheena's hand, a big smile on his face.

"Let's go," he asserted, as he struggled to pull her forward.

"Slow down, kiddo," she complained, in the time when she was standing up. "I just woke up."

"Wait. How long have you been up?" she sleepily asked, while putting up her hair in a neater ponytail.

"Uh, I don know. A while," he said. "I was playing with Sebasen!"

"Ah, I see."

"Wait! Get back here!" she called to the boy as he reached the door.

"What? I'm hungry!" he protested as he walked in place in annoyance.

Walking over to him, she stated, "Look at this mess. What are we going to do with it." Sheena ran her hand through the boy's black hair. "Pfft, it really is just like mine. It's so messy."

"You put in ponytail a lot, mom. Wike yours," he piped in, pointing at her hair and smiling. The smile changed to a pouty frown. "Now, can I go!" he whined.

"Well let's put it up first, okay."

After his hair was up like hers, she looked at her work in triumph, her hands on her hips. Sen just looked at her in annoyance, so she sighed and opened the door for him.

A couple minutes later she was at the dinner table with Sen. Some of the maids were already setting food on the table.

"Hey, Sebastian," she called, when she saw him. "Where's Zelos? Isn't he going to eat?"

"No, not right now, Miss Sheena," the butler kindly replied. "He said he isn't hungry."

"Well, I'm not hungry," she grumbled, her chin supported be her hand. "But I know that's not the reason," she quietly said to herself.

After dinner, Sheena left Sen in Sebastian's care, while she went to look for the master of the house. With the intel she received from his butler, Sheena found herself in front of his room. After taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

"What do you want, Sheena?" She heard from behind the door.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure, why not, It's unlocked," she heard him say. "Come in, my demonic banshee."

Sheena held back her annoyance, and opened the door. He was sitting on the bed, reading a book, not even looking up at her once, while she walked closer to him.

She could tell he wasn't in a good mood at all, especially by his choice of words and his tone when he just recently spoke. His face was like stone as he stared at the book. By her guess, he wasn't actually even reading it.

She cleared her throat. "Hey, you said you wouldn't say anything until you saw Sen's eyes. Well, he's awake."

Zelos just continued staring at the one page of his book.

Growing annoyed and a bit uneasy, she went to grab the book, but her hand was nudged out of the way with the very same book she was going to grab.

Zelos set down the book, and fixed his blue eyes on Sheena's honey-brown ones. The uneasiness began to grow even more inside her.

"No," he simply said, his tone sharp.

"What? No to what?" she asked, puzzled and a bit taken back.

"I'm not looking at the boy, and I'm having nothing to do with your problems."

Sheena staggered back with her eyes opened wide, her strength leaving her body.

"But, Zelos…" she said in a shaky voice.

"I am not the kid's father or that baby's father," he said with boiling anger, as he pointed at her stomach. "I know nothing of this. I don't know what you got yourself into, but whatever it is, I'm not mixed in it, nor do I want to be."

"But Zelos," Sheena said, her voice was wavering even more. She gulped, and took a deep breath. Now with a more confident voice she added, "But Zelos, Sen has your eyes. I'm sure he's yours. I'm sure." Her confidence was already beginning to leave her again.

"Hunny, I said 'no'. And do not just assume that since he's _supposedly_ my son, I'll just happily help him. And do not just assume that just because you're my number one hunny that I'll just help you with all your problems."

"Zelos, I can't do this myself," she practically whispered.

"No, Sheena," he said in a raised voice, his anger and irritation growing. "I would usually love to help you, but not this time. I won't act or be the father!" He said this part in even a louder voice. "There's no way in this world that I will be a father to these kids nor will I help them. You'll have to do this alone." And with those last words he quickly left his bed and stormed out of the room.

"Zelos?" she called after him, bewildered by his extreme level of anger. With the knowledge that he wouldn't be turning back around, she hung her head. A quiet rage simmered inside her, as well as a growing wave of disappointment, heartache, and abandonment that began raging through her being. She knew that Zelos wouldn't react kindly to being a father so suddenly, but she had no idea that he would be so enraged and so against it, that he wouldn't even do it for her. Bitter and angry tears formed in her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could spill down her pale cheeks.

She silently left the empty room and avoided any human contact until the time was ten o'clock.

Then she quietly entered the bedroom where the innocent boy was now sleeping again. Sebastian or one of the maids must have put him to sleep. She sat on the bed beside him, and she softly stared at his resting form, his chest faintly but surely rising and falling.

"I know I shouldn't blame you," she whispered, knowing full well that her words were falling on quiet ears. "Just bear with me, okay? I don't know how to be a mother nor if I'm being a good mother so far, but just know I'll try. I have no idea what's happening, but I know somehow I am your mother. The way you act around me, and the feeling in my heart is enough proof that I am your mother. And even though I may not like these circumstances…the suddenness of everything…I will try my best to figure things out, to take care of you. You are my responsibility now, and I will do what I can, even if it's alone." She ended with choked back sobs.

Despite what she said, Sheena was scared. She had no idea how she was going to be a mother and take care of them, especially alone, and inwardly, she was screaming at the world for the unfairness she had to deal with. The pregnant woman buried her face into her shaking hands, struggling to keep her anguish inside her. In spite of her efforts, fat tears rolled down her face and fell on her swollen stomach. She didn't know how long she stayed there in that state, but eventually she made a decision: she would ask Raine Sage for her advice. She was already the mother of two, and the bearer of much knowledge.

The thought of going to Mizuho was entertained in her mind, but Sheena was too frightened to go to her hometown. She didn't know if they knew what was going on there, or if they were left in the dark as she was. If they were oblivious, she was fearful of their reaction to her suddenly being a single mother. Mizuho's very strict of sex outside of wedlock, and she did not know if she were married or not.

Pushing Mizuho back out of her mind, Sheena thought of Raine, and with the intelligent woman in mind, Sheena began packing her things. She quickly made a trip to the kitchen to gather some food for traveling. She put the food in her bag, after she came back to her bedroom. With everything packed, she put back on her socks and straw sandals, as well as her haori. Then she carefully picked up Sen, and she stole out into the early night.

The ninja choose the silent alleys, attempting to avoid any contact with others. When she reached the gate she looked back at Meltokio. The lamps were all lit and the people were beginning to finish their tasks for the night. Her sad gaze rested on the direction in which the Wilder mansion was located, before turning and leaving the city she neither liked nor hated, just before the gates closed.

* * *

Poor Sheena...I am sorry for making you go through so much, but it will all get better eventually.

"Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter...Some day when your head is much lighter...Some day, yeah we'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun...Some day when the world is much brighter..."


	6. Regret

The night had been a rough one. The hotel she checked into was in a town about eight kilometers from Meltokio, and it was a well-kept one. But her neighbors were noisy almost all night (it was a miracle that Sen could sleep like a log), and unpleasant, troubling thoughts plagued Sheena's mind constantly, causing her only to drift in and out of sleep. When she decided sleep would only continue to evade her, she grudgingly sat up in bed, finding that Sen was actually awake too—he was occupied by observing the birds outside the window. The young mother offered a sleepy 'good morning' as she got out of bed and began shuffling around the items in her bag.

Sheena pulled out a folded cloak out of her bag, but she stopped her movements when she heard something metallic hit the ground and roll under the bed, where it came to a stop. With some effort and great carefulness, Sheena peered under the bed and upon spotting the small object, she grabbed it.

She held it to the light coming from the window. It was a silver ring. Noticing the markings on the smooth ring, she looked even closer. It didn't take her long to figure out what sort of ring this was, and after figuring it out, she let out a startled gasp and let the ring fall back onto the floor as though it burnt her. Collecting herself, she reclaimed the fallen object; it was a wedding band- a Mizuhoen wedding band.

A part of her was still shocked, but still part of her was happy and relieved. Now, assuming this ring was hers, Mizuho would not punish her, unless they did not know about her situation either. Sheena sighed in frustration, while punching the wooden floor upon which she sat.

"Dammit," she thought, "I'm happy I found this ring, but then again this just stirs up the water even more!"

She punched the floor again. "Now, I just need to know who my husband is…No…" She grimaced as she thought further. "I don't want to be married to that idiot!" But she paused as another idea came to her. "Actually, maybe he's not my husband. The village wouldn't let an outsider marry into the village let alone marry their chief."

For the third time, she punched the floor, and this time speaking out loud in a very frustrated voice. "Dammit! Then that means I had an affair with the idiot, while married. And not just once but maybe at least twice I slept with him!" She didn't even think about what the last part really meant. If she did, she would have been horrified and would have blushed profusely.

"Urgh! But Sen knows Zelos is his dad. I think he does at least," she thought. "If I had an affair with him, how and why would Sen know that Zelos's the dad?"

This time instead of letting her anger out on the floor, she clutched her head with both of her hands. "Damn it all!" The ninja seethed. "It would just be better if I am married to that stupid Chosen, even if it's not probable!" And then she punched the floor again, not even caring about the pain that shot up her arm from her now bleeding, white knuckles.

"Okaa-san, are you okay?" asked a timid voice from the end of the bed. Sen was just peeking around the corner, fear as well as worry, filling his eyes.

When she heard his voice, she whipped her head towards him. Her eyes ablaze, but then she closed them, and gritted her teeth.

Thinking his mother was calming down, Sen began to slowly approach her. When he reached her, he put his small hand on one of her slightly shaking arms. "Mom, please calm, please-"

Upon his contact, Sheena lashed out at him. Her arm slammed into his stomach, causing him to land on his bottom some distance away from her. "Get away from me!" she yelled. "I didn't ask for you or this stupid child inside of me!" The ninja angrily motioned towards her bulge. "All you two have done is caused trouble! How am I supposed to do anything while dragging you both along!"

Sheena would have yelled at Sen more, if she didn't notice the total fear on the fallen boy's face. Her heart was quickly filled with guilt. He was absolutely terrified of her. Tears began streaming down his face as well.

"Sen," she said in a shaky and much quieter voice, as she began to crawl towards him.

But he scrambled away from her. "I'm sowwy, mom. Please don't huwt me!" His voice rose higher the closer Sheena got.

Finally when his back hit the wall, Sheena came to a stop in front of him. She quickly pulled the scared and sobbing boy into her lap, and embraced him, as he tried to squirm away.

"I'm so sorry, Sen. It's not your fault," she whispered over and over to him. After the fifth time she said this, his squirming began to settle down until they came to stop. Now he just sobbed into her chest.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm just tired," she murmured into his hair. She felt so terrible, and though she wasn't very happy with suddenly having to take care of a three-year-old as well as being pregnant, and she did not ask for them, she did not blame them. The words just came out with her anger. She hugged him even tighter.

Then when his sobbing ceased, Sheena pulled away from him, and looked at his small figure. He soon met her sad, apologetic gaze.

"I'm so sorry, Sen," she said again. "That was a horrible thing for me to do. I didn't mean it." She paused and shamefully averted her eyes. Sounds of his sniffling pierced her ears, making her feeling even worse.

"Are you okay, Okaa-san?" came his shaky, small voice.

She looked back at him, tears in her eyes. "Hai."

"But are you okay?" she added, quickly surveying him.

"Hai," he smiled, even though a few stray tears still slid down his reddened cheeks, and he sniffled again.

Sheena sadly smiled back and gently wiped the tears from his face. "I promise, I'll never harm you again, ever."

"I believe you." His smile grew even bigger.

Her eyes widened with shock. "He's totally okay, just like that?" she thought.

She regained her composure, and began coming through his hair with one of her hands. "Could you forgive me, Sen?" she quietly asked.

"Hai, I fogive you, Okaa-san!" His small face turned away, and it scrunched as he tried to remember something. His face visibly brightened and turned back up to Sheena's.

"Yur da bes mom in da world, and you wuv me." His hands found one of hers and gripped it. "Daddy says dat you hav a mean spirit in you dat comes out sometime, so you get angry, but, but you luv me, and I shouldn't bwame you. Daddy says yur da bes mommy in da world, no matta wat da mean spiwit does."

Sheena had to take a few moments to just blink and comprehend what the boy said. Part of her wondered if she was an abusive mother or if she sometimes snapped at her husband. Not wanting to worry even more, she pushed away those troubling thoughts. Soon her now red face softened. "Is that so?" A small smile graced her features, her look thoughtful.

"Hai! Daddy and me both luv you," he happily said, and he threw his arms around her neck, digging his face into the crook of her neck.

This action only made more tears come to Sheena's eyes, as she tightly wrapped her arms around his figure. "I don't deserve a child like him," she said to herself. And she buried her own face into his shoulder.

"Mommy. Yur tummy's too big," he complained after a while of silent hugging, and he pulled away from her.

Sheena put the boy on the ground, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You think so?" she laughed. "It's hard to hug with this big belly, isn't it?"

"Hai, will yur tummy weturn to nomal?" he asked.

"Don't worry. My tummy will go back to its normal size soon enough."

"When it does, I'll keep hugging you fowevah!" He exclaimed, a smile back on his face.

His smile only caused Sheena to smile, and she ruffled his hair.

"Come on," she said, pushing herself up. "We have to make it to Raine as soon as possible."

Sen quickly stood up as well. "To Auntie Raine?"

"Yep, to Auntie Raine's, "she confirmed.

Although guilt still lied heavy in her heart, as well as bitterness, Sheena continued smiling as she packed up their things, ate a quick breakfast, wrapped the cloak around the boy, and checked out of the hotel. She just hoped that Raine would be able to help her and was glad that Sen was her child, that such an optimistic, forgiving boy was with her at this moment.


	7. To Sybak and An Old Friend

It was two days later, when Sheena and Sen entered Sybak, where the Professor now lived with her husband and two children. The boat ride took longer than Sheena wanted, but Sen enjoyed every minute of it. He actually refused to get off the boat at first, proclaiming that he wanted to be a sea captain now, but she was able to convince him that becoming the chief of Mizuho after her was far more important and better than being a sea captain.

In Sybak now, the sun was already setting. A few flurries fell here and there, most of them melting upon hitting the ground. Many people were in the streets, going about their business.

"Are you cold?" Sheena asked the boy who was sticking out his tongue, trying to catch the snowflakes.

"No," he said, still concentrating on catching the snow.

Sheena pulled him closer to her just before he collided with a passer-by.

"Sen, you have to pay attention on where you're going," she said. But he just ignored her and asked, "Are we at Auntie Raine's yet?"

"Hai, Hai." She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

After about ten minutes they came in front of the Professor's door. It was a two story stone house, close to the University at which she taught.

"Finally," Sheena said in relief. She was exhausted and knew it was time for both her and Sen to rest. She knocked on the light blue door, and expected it to be opened, but it wasn't. She knocked again, but still no answer. Finally she gave up after the third knock.

"Well, should I pick-lock it?" she thought. Deciding it would be rude, she grabbed Sen's hand and turned away.

"Mom, I'm tiwed now," he softly said, his feet scraping across the cobble-stone streets.

"I know, but Raine isn't home. We're just going to wait for her."

Sen pouted but didn't say anything more, as he obediently sat on the bench that Sheena found.

Together they sat, leaning against the back of the bench. After a time, Sen rested his head against her arm, and Sheena took that same arm and pulled him close to her side, hoping to keep him warm.

Not even a half an hour later did she hear Raine's collected voice.

"Sheena? Is that you?" she asked.

Her voice startled the pregnant ninja, causing her to jump a bit. Sen, who was just sleeping a moment ago, shifted and grumbled.

Turning her head, she saw the silver-haired half-elf approaching her from the side. She was smartly clothed in a heavy dark green robe and had a satchel heavy with books slung over her shoulder.

"Ah, that is you," she smiled. "Why, are you-" her voice stopped, just as Zelos's did, upon perceiving her unusually large stomach and the sleeping child.

"Well, this is mysterious," she said, shocked.

Sheena silently nodded, as she stood up when Raine came closer. A wave of lightheadedness hit her, causing her to clutch her head with a hand and her body to sway. Raine quickly responded by rushing the short distance between the two and wrapping a reassuring arm around her, steadying the heavily pregnant woman.

"Careful. Are you okay?" Raine asked, concerned.

"Hai." The lightheadedness had passed, and now Sheena was looking gratefully at Raine, who was at that moment staring at the sleepy boy on the bench. "Sorry."

"No, that's okay," Raine responded absent-mindedly, before looking back at Sheena. "Here, let's go inside. I think you have much to tell me."

Raine still kept a hand on Sheena's back, and Sheena grabbed Sen's hand and prompted him off the bench. Once they were inside, Raine had Sheena put Sen on the bed in the guest room, which was on the second floor. When the pregnant ninja returned to the ground floor, she immediately sank into the couch. Raine, who was now relieved of her satchel and her outer robe, joined her in the small living room, deciding to take one of the armchairs by the couch.

"Where's Emery and the twins?" Sheena asked, taking notice of the quiet and empty house.

"Oh, my husband decided to take Orion and Kyrie to Palmacosta with him," the Professor answered in her collected manner, while straightening her shirt. "They won't be back for another two days." Now she turned her gaze towards her friend, studying her with curiosity. "But more importantly, what are you doing pregnant and with a boy who seems to have your looks?"

Sheena began to fidget with her own clothes, and Raine could clearly see the exhaustion etched on her face. "That's why I came to you Raine. I hoped you'll be able to explain to me what is going on." Sheena took a moment to think before continuing. "So I'm not amnesic or crazy or anything?" she asked, her gaze fixated on the ground.

"I just saw you three weeks ago, Sheena," she replied, feeling sorry for the young woman, but also feeling quite taken with her mystery. "You were not pregnant then. You were not even married or in a relationship. I don't understand how you are so far along."

"I don't either," Sheena sighed. She leaned forward and held her face in her hands, her elbows rested on her knees. "I was really hoping you'd have some answers."

"Sheena, can you tell me what you know?" Raine asked in a concerned tone.

The ninja peered at the older woman through the fingers that were on either side of her eye. "I really don't know that much."

"Well, I gathered that." The half-elf scooted closer to the edge of her seat. "From what I can tell, you have no idea where these children came from, that part's obvious. The boy is yours I'm assuming."

"Yes, apparently," Sheena murmured. "If his appearance wasn't a big enough clue, he always calls me his mother, and he is very…attached to me."

"Interesting." Raine said thoughtfully. "Anyway, I can also tell that they came to you recently. It had to be in the last three weeks, and so far everybody that you've met doesn't know about your children either."

"Yes."

"When did this all begin?"

Sheena sighed again, and sat back against the cushions of the couch, crossing her arms. "It was about four days ago. I woke up in the middle of a forest, about three-fourths of a day's walk from Meltokio, though it took me much longer to get there, even with the cart ride I had. And, well, when I woke up, I found out that I had a stomach…umm, this area this size, and Sen, the boy, was lying next to me."

"Do you know why you were in the forest?" Raine inquired; she was brimming with even more curiosity then before.

"No. From what I remember, I was doing paperwork in Mizuho just earlier in the night."

"Did you notice anything wrong back at Mizuho? Anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, everything was just fine. At least I think so. Tchh. I don't know."

"Hmmm," Raine sat, mulling over what Sheena had said so far. Breaking out of thought, she asked, "Can you tell me what happened after you woke up in the forest?"

"I started traveling to Meltokio, right after the sun began to rise. And I arrived at Zelos's mansion after midnight."

"Sheena!" Raine exclaimed, startling the tired woman. "You really made that whole journey in one day? While you are this pregnant?"

"Yes," Sheena quickly replied, still calming down after being so badly startled.

"Do you know how crazy that was? You could have hurt yourself and the baby! It's a miracle you are both okay!"

"Well, I wasn't quite in my right mind then," she sheepishly answered. "I was very confused. Actually I'm still confused. I guess I just wasn't really thinking."

"I'd say," Raine said in a calmer voice than before. She brought a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, a displeased expression on her face. "I'm just glad you are fine, and hopefully the child is. You are definitely going to get enough sleep here tonight," she said in a commanding tone, now looking back at Sheena. "Now, please continue with your story."

"Okay, well, I found out that Zelos didn't know anything either, so I decided to come to you next."

"And why didn't that ex-Chosen help you here?" Anger was creeping into her voice. "He shouldn't have let a so-far-along pregnant woman and small child travel by themselves, even if the woman is a ninja."

Sheena looked down at her lap in embarrassment. "I left without telling him."

"Sheena," she said, this time without the anger, "You keep being so risky. It's a phenomenon you are still alive after all these years." The half-elf shook her head at her friend. Raine then inquired, "Is there any other information I should know?"

"Uh, no," Sheena lied.

"I know you're lying," Raine stated, looking as calm and collected as ever. "Your reply came way too quickly, and a blush is forming on your face."

"Huh?" was her only response.

"Here, let me help you. For what other reason did you go to Zelos's, besides him being so close at the time?"

Sheena's blush deepened. "Does there have to be another reason?"

"Huh," sighed the Professor. "Sheena, I'm sure you are good at lying whenever you have to lie for your missions, but you have never been a good liar around the group. Now what was the reason?"

The ninja grumbled before responding, and she chose to look opposite of Raine, her cheeks reddening even more. "I think Zelos is the father," she muttered.

"What?" asked Raine, leaning closer to Sheena.

"You heard me, now I'm not saying it again," she exclaimed, scooting away from Raine.

Raine took this chance to sit next to her on the couch. "No, Sheena, I did not hear. Now repeat it."

Sheena leaned further away, keeping her face out of Raine's view. "I think Zelos is the father," she repeated, louder this time.

Raine finally leaned back. "That's interesting. Why do you think that?"

"Because Sen has eyes just like his, if you didn't see them."

"Sheena, this is important information. You shouldn't have kept it from me, even if it is embarrassing for you. You want me to help you don't you?"

"Hai," the ninja murmured, as she hung her head, and stared at the ground.

"I'm assuming you told Zelos about this while you were there," Raine stated.

"Yeah, he didn't like it at all."

"I don't imagine anyone would quickly and gladly accept information such as that," she softly said, laying a hand on Sheena's back. After a moment of silence, Raine asked, "Are you happy he is possibly…that he is…at least most likely the father?"

"Well, I don't know," she admitted, still looking at the ground. Sheena thought about her reaction to the ring and her thoughts from a couple days ago. "He's my friend, but he's perverted and is always flirting with other women. I honestly don't know how a marriage…" she paused for a moment, remembering that he may actually not be her husband, and continued, "or just a relationship…with him would work. He's also annoying. Sometimes I'm angry at the idea, but then sometimes I'm...," she trailed off.

"Do you love him, though?"

Sheena's head shot up, and she looked at Raine wide-eyed. "What!? Where did you get that idea?!" Her cheeks reddened again.

Raine shrugged, amused by her friend's reaction. "Oh, it's just a simple question. Anyway, I could just be asking if you love him as a friend."

"Somehow I don't think that's what you were referring to," Sheena muttered, calming down after Raine's sudden question.

"Do you, though? If you do, this whole situation could work out differently."

With a still red face, Sheena looked back to the ground. She placed a hand on her heart, hoping to slow its pacing. "What does it matter if I do or don't?"

"It would matter a lot. If you love him, this could work out in your favor," Raine explained. Seeing that Sheena was mulling over what to respond, the half-elf sighed and continued, "I don't even need to ask you whether you love him or not?"

Sheena looked back at Raine in surprise. "What?"

"Yes, as you know, I am an observant woman. Throughout the journey and since then at our group's sporadic gatherings, I have seen you steal looks at Zelos. I also saw you do that with Lloyd, but disregarding that, those stolen glances at him were always…tender, yes, tender."

The ninja was embarrassed. She had no idea that Raine suspected her feelings for the man, especially when they weren't even clear to her. She was constantly teased for having a crush on Lloyd, mainly by Genis and Zelos, but she never knew someone would actually suspect her feelings for her old friend.

Knowing she couldn't dissuade Raine and that any argument would be in vain, Sheena scoffed, "My feelings don't matter if he doesn't return them."

Raine smiled at her confession. "You will just have to find out what his feelings are by yourself. I don't exactly know what they are. That man is a bit harder to read." Noticing Sheena's downcast expression, Raine added, "But I do know that he cares for you as a friend."

Sheena silently nodded, grateful for her friend's reassuring words, and, again, her gaze found its place back onto the floor. She mused on the words Raine had said, but after feeling as though she dwelt on them long enough, she changed the subject.

"Hey, Raine? How bad is childbirth?"

Raine wanted the ninja to talk about her feelings for Zelos even more, so that the younger woman would be more consoled, but she decided to respect Sheena's decision to change subjects.

"Oh, it is extremely painful, especially with twins, not that I really remember," Raine answered, looking forward, her eyes brimming with the memories of hers, mainly remembering seeing her children for the first time. She turned her head and saw Sheena's now pale face looking at hers. "But it's worth it," she added, patting the ninja's back. "Once you hold your child, or in my case, children, after it's all over, you forget much of what happened. And the child, or children, are definitely worth it. You'll know once you have yours, but that's not going to be for a while still, judging by your size." She was now rubbing Sheena's back, trying to comfort her.

Seeing color return back to Sheena's face she asked, "Are you hungry? I know the perfect foods for you."

"No, I'm fine," the ninja very quickly responded. "Sen and I ate about an hour ago."

"You know I would feed you free food."

"Yes, but Sen was complaining so much I couldn't take it anymore." Sheena felt no need to add that she was also terrified of Raine's cooking.

"Why don't you go to bed as well," the half-elf suggested, knowing Sheena was drained and probably wanted to be alone to think. "You must be extremely tired. I will see what I can do to help you."

"But I'll feel bad if you're doing all the work, while I'm sleeping," Sheena said.

"Sheena, you need your rest, and I think you are in much need for help. You should not be doing this alone."

"Thank you," she gratefully said with a small smile. "Thank you so much." Tears were now beginning to form.

"Okay, no need to cry." Raine was now rubbing her back even more. "See, you have been without help for too long."

"Sorry," whispered Sheena, who was wiping her tears away before they fell.

"I got very emotional as well when I was pregnant." The older woman gave her a comforting smile. "Now, go get some rest." And she helped Sheena stand up.


	8. Gratitude

I've always imagined that Sheena's and Raine's relationship would develop into an awesome friendship, so that's mainly what this chapter is about. Well, I hope you like it.

* * *

 _"Oi, Sheena! SHEEEENA!"_

 _With a very irritated expression, the bearer of the yelled name glared over at the yeller._

 _"What do you want, idiot Chosen," she practically snarled back, the pen in her hand on the verge of being snapped in half._

 _The red-haired man feigned a look of hurt. "Oh, my dear lady ninja, how bitter you sound. Is something ailiing thee?"_

 _From her position in front of her table, Sheena continued to glare at the man, who was comfortably dressed in a pale blue striped yukata. "Drop the fancy talk and what do you want?"_

 _The man exaggeratedly shook his head, as he sat down next to her on the tatami matted floor. "My, my, you are not happy to see your husband, are you?"_

 _The irritated woman looked back at the papers in front of her and sorted the misplaced ones into appropriate piles, after making sure they bore her signature. "Well, no thanks to you, I hardly got any sleep last night. Sen was screaming and crying the whole damn night. The whole DAMN NIGHT!" Her last couple words laced with even more venom then her previous ones._

 _Resting an elbow on the low table, and then his cheek on his hand, Zelos gazed sympathetically at the woman beside him. "I'm sorry, Sheena. The mission really wore me out," he attempted to explain._

 _"Pfft, you were so worn out that you couldn't hear your kid in the next room," she snapped back, her gaze still focused on the papers in front of her._

 _"Sheena, I'm sorr—"_

"Sheena, are you awake?"

The ninja's hand dropped the wooden spoon into the pot in front of her, and her attention quickly landed on the woman standing beside her. Raine was gazing at the Mizuhoen chief with concern.

"Are you alright?" her friend then asked. "Your mind was definitely somewhere else."

Sheena felt small arms wrap around her legs, and one of her hands found the head of the boy. Stroking the boy's hair with that hand, she used the other to continue stirring the pot of oatmeal in front of her. "Yes, I'm fine. Just thinking back on this dream I had," she smiled, looking back at the oatmeal.

While setting her bag down on the counter, Raine raised an eyebrow in interest. "Oh, what was it about?"

"Mhmm, nothing really," the younger woman lied, as she tapped the spoon on the rim of the pan before setting it down. In truth, the dream was taking over her thoughts. To her it didn't even seem like a dream; it seemed too real to be one, but she didn't feel like discussing the matter.

Raine mentally sighed, knowing very well Sheena was lying, but she decided to change the subject. "Well, while I was outside with Sen, I heard the most curious news," she started, hanging up her cloak on a hook.

Sheena's ears perked up, while she placed the pot on the dinner table with Sen following closely behind her, spouting observations he was making at the time.

"My neighbor was saying that both she and her husband experienced a brief moment of black-out this morning. It's strange, though, because the same thing happened to me, soon after I woke up. I wanted to discuss it more, but apparently she had a boat to catch. It's very convenient—or inconvenient, depending on how you look at it—how that happens. You want to discuss something so intriguing, yet the other person needs to leave." The half-elf let loose a forlorn sigh.

Sheena rolled her eyes, not really thinking about what the other woman said and helped her son into a chair. "Here you go, Sen," she said, and gave him a spoon. She then smacked his hand when he began to dig into his breakfast. "Nah-ah. What do we say before our meals?"

"But I'm hungry," he whined to which Sheena huffed. After Raine and she were seated, Sheena clapped her hands together and looked over at the boy. Seeing that he was doing the same, the pair simultaneously said "itadakimasu", though Sen stumbled over the pronunciation.

When the breakfast was finished, Sheena had Sen bring dishes over to Raine, who began washing them. Soon the table was cleared, and the now clean dishes were returned to their homes. Raine pulled out some toys she bought for her children, and the boy was soon occupied with those.

"Wow, your boy is easy to entertain," Raine commented, as she took her place at the table again.

Sheena resumed her seat as well. "Yeah, I'm lucky for that. I can't imagine having a boy who's picky with how he spends his time." Her gaze lingered on the playing boy before turning her attention over to Raine, who she saw smiling at her.

A slight blush formed on her face. "What?"

With closed eyes, Raine softly shook her head, still smiling. "I was just thinking that you are a good mother."

"What makes you say that?" Sheena inquired, still embarrassed.

"Just how much you care about him," she stated. "Now, shall we resume our conversation from last night?"

"Yes, did you figure something out?" The ninja excitedly asked, hoping for some revelations.

"Well, after last night I have been thinking a lot and conducting some research as well," Raine stated matter-of-factly as she stared at the ninja from across the kitchen table.

"Yes," Sheena replied eagerly.

"I have come to the conclusion that I regrettably have no idea how this has come to happen."

First Sheena's jaw dropped, but then she let out a sigh and rested her head on her hand.

"Drawing from my knowledge and what I researched last night, there is no recorded history of anyone experiencing the situation you are in." Seeing Sheena's downcast expression as she now looked forlornly at the young boy playing, the professor added, "I'm sorry, Sheena. I'll keep looking."

"No, no, it's fine," the ninja practically whispered. Clearing her throat and showing a smile, she continued, "Thank you, for all you have done. I appreciate it, really."

"It is no problem, Sheena. This is what friends are for, right?"

"Jeez, you are sounding like Lloyd," Sheena laughed.

"I suppose you are right," the older woman smiled. Straightening up she continued, "Anyway, let's go over your next action, shall we." She looked Sheena in the eye to make sure she was paying attention. Seeing that she was very attentive, she said, "I know you will most likely find this distasteful, but I believe your best choice is to return to Mizuho. There is chance someone there may have an answer. I can accompany you if you would like."

"I knew you were going to mention this," the ninja hissed. She held her weary head in her hands, her elbows resting on the table. After letting out another sigh, she used her hands to wipe her face. "Stay here. You have your own family to worry about, and your job."

"Are you sure?" Raine asked, concerned. "I don't like the idea of you traveling alone. I really sho—"

"It's fine, really," she flashed the half-elf a smile, "Come on, I'm a ninja. I can take on anything."

Now it was Raine's turn to sigh. "Being a ninja did not stop you from falling down those holes during the journey."

"Come on! Have a little faith in me!" She replied with a hint of hurt in her voice.

Raine just shook her head.

"Come on, Sen," Sheena called over to the boy, who immediately turned his head towards his mother, "We're leaving."

"What?" Raine and Sen asked simultaneously. The latter put on a pouty expression, while the former wore a face of disbelief. Sen grudgingly stood up, and started over to his mother.

"You are leaving now?" The professor questioned. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable resting a little longer?"

"I would be more comfortable knowing what the hell is going on!" Sheena insisted, while standing up and pushing her chair in.

"We could go to the library here. I read a lot of literature there last night, but I may have missed something," she added, following the younger woman's movements with her eyes.

Sheena squatted down began picking up the toys Sen left lying on the floor, keeping one of her hands on her belly. Seeing what his mother was doing, the boy scampered over to help. "No, I think it's best if I go back home, but thanks for offering." She was just placing a wooden hero figurine into basket, when she suddenly looked back at the silver-haired woman. "Wait, how late did you stay up last night?"

Raine was still sitting at the table, and now Sheena was able to tell how tired she appeared. Dark circles based her weary eyes, and her back was just slightly slumped forward. "Oh, till one—no—half past one," she answered.

Putting the last toy into the basket, and having Sen scoot it back where Raine acquired it from, Sheena walked back over to the half-elf. "Raine, you got up early too, so that Sen had someone to supervise him, didn't you?"

"Mhmm, yes, and we had fun, didn't we, Sen?" she asked the boy, who now scampered back over to his mom.

"Ya," he grinned, and scooted over to the sitting woman, grabbing her hand.

"Raine…" Sheena started but trailed off, not really knowing how to respond. She knew Raine and her were good friends now in contrast to when they first met, but she did not expect the half-elf to do so much for her.

Raine rubbed Sen's head, and stood up. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with? I'm really worried about your and the baby's health."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she assured her. "Now, we'll get out of your hair. Just let me get my things." After saying this, she quickly climbed the stairs and soon returned with her and Sen's belongings.

With concern, Raine quietly observed as Sheena promptly tied Sen's hair up like hers and as she fitted a coat on his small frame. Finally, she put on her haori and hoisted her pack on her shoulders.

"Well, we'll be off now. I think we're ready."

"Here, just a minute", Raine said, and she went to the kitchen and soon returned with a bundle in her hands, "Here's some food for your journey. It's the least I can do."

Sheena's face turned green, and she waved her hands. "No, No. You've already done a lot. I really can't accept this."

"Just take it. Emery made it a couple of days ago," she huffed, turning Sheena around and shoving it into Sheena's pack.

"Oh, thanks, then," she sweat-dropped.

"You guys are so cruel sometimes. My cooking really is not that bad."

Sheena's only response to this was a nervous laugh.

"So it looks like you must be going," Raine sighed. "You are lucky there are no classes today, otherwise I would be terribly late."

"Heh, sorry, Raine, and please get some rest."

"Hmph. Now be safe, and I will continue researching. I'll see if I can check Meltokio's records. I have to go there tomorrow on university business anyway."

"Jeesh. You sound like you could be my mom," Sheena grinned. "But, thanks agai—"

"Kaa-san! Are we leaving?" Sen asked impatiently as he tugged Sheena's arm. He was now excited for more adventures on the road with his mom.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, we are." She smiled at him. "Thank you," she said, turning back to Raine, shooting her a very grateful look.

"Yes, yes, on you go. I have work to do!" Raine exclaimed, while she opened the door for the two.

"Bye, Auntie Raine," Sen cheerfully said as he was shooed out the door. Raine gave him a smile, and she watched the pair as they walked further down the street and until they disappeared into the crown. Part of her wanted to collect her own things and follow after them, but her memory constantly reminded her that that was not Sheena's wish. With one more worried glance at her friend and her newfound son, she sighed and shut the door to her home, already formulating new plans and yearning for her own family to return home.

"Auntie Raine is weally nice isn't she, mom?" Sen chipped in, after they were out of view of Raine's house.

"Mhmm,"she hummed in response, still attempting to comprehend why her friend did so much for her.

"Are we going back home?" he asked looking up at her.

The question caused Sheena to frown in worry, but just like she had been doing the past few days, she forced a smile on her face. "Yep, we are. You excited?" She glanced at him, unconsciously rubbing her stomach.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see Gwandpa again! He always gives me tweats!" He beamed, excitement clearly showing on his face.

"Hmph, he probably can't wait to see you, too," she mumbled, worry churning in her gut again, and she continued to step towards the exit of the college town.


	9. Peril

Two days later, and Sheena was still worrying over the reaction of her grandfather, the former chief of Mizuho. She actually had much to worry about, but her grandfather's reaction was at the forefront, especially since every minute Sen and she were drawing closer to the hidden village.

Right now, they were walking down a dirt path towards the forest in which Mizuho lay, though this forest was still a couple of hours from view. The day wasn't especially cold nor was the sun especially bright. The only thing special about that day was the heightened danger that stood before the pair.

Seeing four menacing looking men standing still about forty feet ahead of her stopped the ninja in her tracks. She squeezed Sen's hand and cursed inwardly. These men looked as though they did not have a bath in days. Even dirtier were the smirks on their rough faces. Sheena took notice of the weapons in their hands and their builds. She guessed she could take them down if she were not pregnant and protecting a three-year-old, but that was not the case. She was definitely in a compromising position.

Mentally she reviewed what lay behind her, and she quickly side-glanced at the areas on either side of her. There was no one else in sight and the safest places lay in front of her, meaning the places with the most trees. There was no escaping, unless she called upon one of her summon spirits to get the two away from there. Otherwise, she would have to fight. Sheena was not allowed to think anymore, though, since one of the ruffian's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing out here?" he snarled. "Shouldn't you be at home, getting a steak ready or something." For some reason the other three men found his remark hilarious, since they all broke out into a crude laughter.

Sen came closer to Sheena, and she squeezed his hand more tightly.

"Look boys, we found ourselves a delicious snack," another said as they started to progress closer to Sheena and Sen.

Sheena responded by inching backwards with the boy in tow. She slowly and carefully reached into her robe to pull out her cards. She deduced in her mind that she wouldn't be able to summon a spirit in time now and still be able to protect Sen as well if the ruffians rushed at her in the process.

The ruffians were still coming closer, appearing more dangerous and uglier as they did.

"Mommy," cried the terrified boy as he clutched even closer to Sheena.

"Everything is going to be fine," she tried to reassure him, while her hand found his head. She gently and protectively hugged him close. She knew her words were defiantly not reassuring her.

Two of the larger ruffians began walking towards them, and Sheena backed away more, keeping Sen close to her.

She threw her bag to one side and pulled out her cards and held them with her one hand. One of her feet was in front of the other, as she attempted to stand in her battle position.

The men began running towards them. She took her hand away from Sen's head and called 'Cyclone Seal!". The two ruffians were caught in a green light and they were repelled backwards after being lifted in the air, taking some damage as well.

Sheena backed away even more. "Sen, stay back," she ordered, and she nudged him behind her, longing for him to stay out of harm's way.

Her first two opponents were now even angrier and the other two were now joining them. Sheena stood ready for them, pushing her fear and doubt to the back of her mind. She had to somehow win or at least escape, no matter what.

All four men came charging towards here and she yelled for Sen to move further back.

One man's fist came rushing towards her face but she was able to easily dodge it and force him back with a pyre seal. The next guy came, and she used a demon seal on him before he landed a hit. The third one quickly replaced him, but suffered the same fate. The last man tried to rush past her towards Sen, but she speedily blocked his path.

Again and again they men came after her, but she was able to dodge their hits as well as repel them.

But Sheena was quickly growing fatigued. She clutched her stomach and grimaced when the baby kicked in protest to all her motion.

Two of her opponents came after her but she jumped back further away from them using 'Cyclone seal' to keep her enemies back, all the while making sure Sen stayed away from the battle.

When she was far enough away from the men, she took the chance to summon. She was much quicker with the process now than six years ago. She held out her cards and the black light engulfed her, and soon symbols appeared at her feet, as she chanted, "I call upon the light of the heavens, I summon thee, come, Luna!" She finished with her hand raised. Quickly, Luna appeared, and her pillars of light struck them to the ground.

Sheena stumbled backwards, and she wiped her sweat from her brow. "Dammit," she cursed mentally, "I should've asked Aska to get us out of here!"

"Mommy!" Sen called and he began to run towards her. But out of the corner of her eye she saw the first two men who attacked her struggle to stand back up.

"Stay back," she yelled to him. Sen stopped and stepped away, pure terror on his face as the two began rushing towards Sheena.

"Damn, these guys are tough," she cursed, as she ninja braced herself for their attack. She sidestepped the first man's attack, which caused the man to barrel forward and crash to the ground. As for the other ruffian, Sheena barely got out of his way, and she grabbed his arm, flipped him, and smashed him against the ground, where he lay stunned.

As pride began to well up inside her, the first man rushed towards her again, his face red with rage. Sheena tried to dodge him as well, but she lost her balance, and his huge fist slammed into the side of her face. She was propelled backwards, crashing onto her back and skidding across the ground.

"Okaa-san!" screamed the three-year-old, as he ran towards the fallen woman.

Sheena struggled to push herself up. "Sen..." she struggled to say, but her eyes widened with fear when she saw the ruffian who just punched her running towards her, the ground shaking with each footfall. The ninja tried to scramble away, but there was no way she would be able to escape him, not in the state she was in.

"Okaa-san!" Sen screamed again. Sen was almost to her, but the second larger ruffian, who was now recovered from the shock of being thrown by a pregnant woman, grabbed him. All Sheena could do was hold her breath and squeeze her eyes shut.

But instead of the heavy impact of the ruffian, Sheena heard an explosion and felt the heat of a blast. She opened her eyes and just before her, saw the result of 'Flame Lance'. The opponent who was about to pummel her, now lay burnt on the ground, twitching.

Then she heard the sounds of a finishing skirmish behind her. She turned to look, and she saw the second ruffian lying on the ground at a pair of white boots. She followed the legs up and saw the owner of those white boots gently setting the terrified boy on the ground.

The white boots then walked towards her, and soon a hand was held out in front of her.

"Don't worry, my voluptuous hunny. You're knight in shining armor has arrived."

Sheena stared up in shock at the smirking face.

"Zelos…" she murmured.

"Come on, hunny. You can't stay lying on your back in the dirt all day," he said in a jovial voice, as he grabbed her hand, and helped her up.

Now standing on her feet, she swayed, but Zelos was there to steady and support her.

"What is happening? Why are you here?" she asked, her voice failing to convey her astonishment.

"I'm here to escort you, my lady."

After a few moments of Sheena still staring at him in shock, Zelos laughed, "Hunny, you can let go of my hand now."

Sheena quickly snapped back into reality, and she pushed his hand away, while blushing profusely. She looked at the ground in embarrassment.

"Sen," she suddenly said, and locating him, she hastily made her way to him. He was standing still shocked, just where Zelos had left him. She knelt down checked him for wounds but found none. She then wiped the tears from his face.

"It's okay, kid."

The boy threw his arms around her neck, and Sheena could feel the wetness of his tears on her collarbone.

"Okaa—kaa-san," he sobbed. Sheena began rubbing his back, desperately trying to soothe him. Meanwhile, Zelos stood in the background observing the two. A slight smile shone on his pale face, but at the same time, he was in that awkward state of feeling out of place and not knowing what to do.

The ninja pulled away and looked at Sen's face.

"Hey, Sen, look at me," she softly ordered.

The boy obediently did as he was told, and he lifted his puffy red eyes towards the young woman's.

"It's all good now."

"Hai, dat's cuz daddy sa-saved us, mommy," he hiccupped. A big grin appeared on his tear-stricken face, and he peaked around Sheena at the red-haired man.

At this, Zelos felt even more awkward and averted his eyes from the gleaming child. "Sheena was right," he thought. "Sen does have my eyes."

Sheena looked back at the man, who was now donning her pack, and she gave him a sympathetic smile. She then began standing up, but a sharp pain jolted through her, making her sharply hiss and revert to her kneeling position. While trying to ignore Sen, Zelos hastily ran to her side and knelt beside her, a comforting hand on her back.

"You okay?" he asked.

Sheena's face was pale, and sweat shone on her brow. She carefully changed to sitting cross-legged on the dirt road, her eyes clenched shut.

"Here, I'll heal you." Worry was evident in his voice.

Zelos lifted his hand and it hovered by her bruised and cut cheek, but before he could heal it, the ninja's hand clutched his wrist.

"No," she uttered. She turned to look at him, her face even paler and contorted with pain. "No, please heal the baby first. I don't know if he—she—he or she is alright. I want to make sure."

Zelos silently nodded, and Sheena guided his hand with hers to on top of her swollen stomach, where he began healing the life inside.

After he finished healing that area, he tended to the rest of her. Upon finishing he slowly helped her up. Her body leaned heavily against his.

"Thank you, Zelos," she wearily, but gratefully muttered.

"What?' he questioned, taken by surprise, which his face showed.

"I said 'thank you'," she articulated, some annoyance sneaking into her voice.

"Hmph," he smiled, "You've hardly ever thanked me before, hunny. Do I get a kiss this time?" His face leaned closer to hers.

Sheena tried to push his face away, but because of her exhaustion, the action ended up basically being her hand touching his face.

A smirk formed underneath the hand, and Zelos gently grabbed her wrist, taking her hand away from his face.

All of a sudden, Sheena felt her body being lifted, and his strong arms encircling around her torso and legs.

"Wha-what are you doing?" she yelped, her body tense.

"Carrying you of course," he gleefully replied.

"Come on br—uhh—kid. Can you walk still?" Zelos asked, Sen who was beaming cheerfully at the two, but still seemed shaken by the skirmish.

"Hai, papa!"

Uneased by 'papa' and the boy's grin he turned back to Sheena as if to ask her what to do.

She was not interested in what he was implying. Instead she reiterated her past question, "Why are you here?"

"Hush, hush, my number one hunny. I'll tell you later. Like I already said, just know that I'm here to escort you."

"Fine," she sighed, and then began to protest against his hold more. "Just let me down."

Zelos clutched her tighter. "No, no, that won't do. You are exhausted. You won't make it another five steps."

The ninja was going to protest again, but she decided against it, realizing he was right.

"Okay," she breathed with just a hint of frustration. "Just get somewhere where I can rest, quickly."

"Yes, yes, my princess."

"Daddy—"

"Hey, Sen," calmly called his mother, who now was actually comfortably (though she would not admit this) sunk into Zelos's arms and against his chest with her eyes closed, "Let's play the quiet game."

"Why, Mommy?"

"Because I said so."

"I don't wanna."

"What about if you stay silent the whole way, then you get a treat," she sleepily suggested.

"What kinda tweat?" he asked, now interested.

"Any treat you want."

"Any tweat?" His voice got higher with excitement.

"Yes. Now no more speaking for you because the silent game is beginning right now."

He gave a sound of acknowledgement, but just as he started to follow Zelos, he paused and looked at the scene behind them. He gazed at it, still frightened at what occurred.

Hearing the pause of the small footsteps, the red-head turned around. A twang of guilt spasmed within him, seeing the innocent boy standing in front of the blackened ground and fallen bodies. "Hey, c'mon, kid."

At the older man's voice, Sen slowly turned around, and seeing the man looking at him, the boy jogged to his side and followed him down the path.


End file.
